The above header is a San Diego U-T headline, and I’m the “debut novelist.” The Angry Woman Suite (also a Discovery Award winner and Kirkus Critics’ Pick) is my baby—and I am still walking on air after winning the 2013 San Diego Book Award for Best Mystery last weekend AND then the Geisel Award for “best of the best.”

I’m still saying to myself, Really?

I went to the awards ceremony intending only to show my appreciation to the San Diego Book Awards Association for moving my historical-psychological mystery novel forward to finalist status—and was SURE I’d be home in bed with dog and book by 9 PM—in fact, couldn’t wait to get home to bed, book, and dog. I didn’t even prepare comments (and preparing for every eventuality (tsunamis, malaria outbreaks, stock market plunges) is part of my job—er, makeup; Felix Unger has nothing on me), but that’s how sure I was about the TEN hours of reading and shut-eye I’d scheduled for later that night.

Well, goes to show … let down your guard for one minute and the universe pounces—this time, though, in the best way imaginable—although the mind picture of me walking down to that stage twice with no comments prepared—a wordless writer!—makes me cringe (and laugh—gotta laugh, because, oh, the lovely irony).

What I ended up saying (I think) when I was “crowned” with that familiar red and white Cat in the Hat chapeau (San Diego’s Geisel Award, which is awarded to each year’s judges’ pick for “best in show,” is named for our city’s own Theodore Geisel aka Dr. Seuss, the world’s most beloved children’s author), was of course “thank you” (a million times) and then I told a little story (I think)  about DDF (my husband who passed last year), and how supportive he’d always been, and how thrilled he’d have been seeing this, and that I intended placing my two trophies alongside the very first print copy of The Angry Woman Suite, which became DDF’s, the book I’d presented to him shortly before he died (and he’d been ecstatic—seriously ecstatic).

But not quite yet.

Yep, you caught me: I’m still carrying them around with me everywhere.

(Of course not really) *smile*

Related articles

• The Read: SD Book Awards winners (utsandiego.com)